Poll

National

NEW YORK (AP) — The United States’ 2-2 World Cup draw with Portugal is almost certainly the most-watched soccer game ever in the U.S., an emphatic confirmation of the sport’s rising popularity in a country slower to embrace it than the rest of the world.
The Nielsen company said that Sunday’s gripping game was seen by an average of 24.7 million viewers on ESPN and Univision. That matches it with the 24.7 million U.S. viewers who watched the 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands.
ESPN said an additional 490,000 people streamed coverage of the game on their mobile devices through the company’s app. Streaming numbers for 2010 weren’t immediately available, but it’s very unlikely they were that high because streaming apps were not as sophisticated then.
Many factors were in place to make it so popular: It was an exciting game, interest in the U.S. team was high because of the first-game victory against Ghana and World Cup viewing in general has been high. The Sunday evening time slot also meant many Americans were available to watch.
“It indicates that a large group in our audience is really following the story of the World Cup, which is really terrific,” said Scott Guglielmino, ESPN senior vice president of programming.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil relied on its star Neymar for two early goals to beat Cameroon 4-1 Monday and reach the World Cup’s knockout stage for a South American showdown against Chile, a 2-0 loser to the Netherlands.
Winning Group B with its third straight victory made sure that the Dutch avoided the host so early in the tournament. Instead, the Netherlands will face Mexico, which beat Croatia 3-1 to advance alongside Brazil from Group A.
Spain beat Australia 3-0 in an inconsequential game between already eliminated teams, a victory providing a little balm on the disappointing defense of its title.
With free-flowing games and buckets full of goals the rule in this outstanding tournament, it took until the final minutes of the Group A games for Brazil to make sure it advanced as group leader on goal difference over Mexico.
“We are progressing match after match and that’s important,” Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said.
Both finished with seven points, with Croatia eliminated with three points, while Cameroon finished with three losses. Brazil finished first because it had a better goal differential than Mexico, plus 5 to plus 3.

LONDON (AP) — Imagine what the reception will be like for Andy Murray on Monday when he first strides onto the green grass of Centre Court at Wimbledon.

A year ago, Murray became the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the singles title at a tournament the locals refer to simply as "The Championships," ending a nation's long wait and sparking talk of a knighthood.

This year, Murray gets the defending champion's honor of playing the fortnight's first match on the most famous tennis court in the world. Seems safe to say that 15,000 or so of his closest friends will greet him with a full-throated roar.

"As the time gets nearer, and, you know, I get ready to play the first match on Monday, I'll definitely ... be excited about it," Murray said. "I will be nervous. It (is) an experience; something I have never experienced before. Players have talked about it in the past, that it's a great experience. But it can also be a nerve-racking one."

Murray had a slow start this season, coming off back surgery, and he hasn't reached a final since Wimbledon 50 weeks ago.

But he showed he's on the way back to peak form by reaching the semifinals at the French Open.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The headline from the World Cup, Day 6: Big favorite Brazil is vulnerable.
Those who thought the World Cup host or world champion Spain — thumped 5-1 last week by the Netherlands — would walk away with this should think again.
Proving the old adage that there are no easy games in football’s showcase, Brazil failed to beat Mexico for the first time at the World Cup, held Tuesday to a 0-0 draw in their second game in Group A.
Belgium — a long-shot pick for the title — also struggled to break down Algeria, but got help off its bench to win 2-1 in Belo Horizonte.
In steamy Cuiaba, an evenly matched and entertaining back-and-forth contest ended Russia 1, South Korea 1. Substitutes scored all but one of the five goals on Tuesday, proving the importance of having a Plan B.
All 32 teams have now played at least once. The Netherlands and Germany, which scored four Monday against Portugal, are the standouts so far.
The big surprise was Brazil’s failure to find the net in the northeastern city of Fortaleza.
With Neymar rampant through the middle, Marcelo ever-willing to go forward and Oscar supplying passes and inventiveness, Brazil should be able to score almost at will. Time and again, Brazil’s yellow shirts swarmed over Mexico’s penalty box.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Tony Gwynn could handle a bat like few other major leaguers, whether it was driving the ball through the “5.5 hole” between third base and shortstop or hitting a home run off the facade in Yankee Stadium in the World Series.
He was a craftsman at the plate, whose sweet left-handed swing made him one of baseball’s greatest hitters.
Gwynn loved San Diego.
San Diego loved “Mr. Padre” right back.
Gwynn, a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest athletes in San Diego’s history, died Monday of oral cancer, a disease he attributed to years of chewing tobacco. He was 54.
“Our city is a little darker today without him but immeasurably better because of him,” Mayor Kevin Faulconer said in a statement.
In a rarity in pro sports, Gwynn played his whole career with the Padres, choosing to stay in the city where he was a two-sport star in college, rather than leaving for bigger paychecks elsewhere.
His terrific hand-eye coordination made him one of the game’s greatest pure hitters. He had 3,141 hits — 18th on the all-time list — a career .338 average and won eight batting titles to tie Honus Wagner’s NL record.

NATAL, Brazil (AP) — After Clint Dempsey’s historic early goal, the United States spent more than an hour struggling to hold off wave after wave of Ghana attacks. It was no surprise when Ghana tied the game in the 82nd minute.
Once again, the Black Stars — who had eliminated the Americans at the past two World Cups — were poised to ruin the tournament for the U.S.
With two starters out with injuries, the U.S. barely threatened in the second half until a corner kick in the 86th minute. Graham Zusi lifted the ball into the penalty area, where fellow substitute John Brooks rose above the defense and headed it in for a 2-1 victory, putting the U.S. atop the group with Germany.
“I couldn’t believe it. ...I just ran in the box and hoped that the ball would hit my head and it did,” said Brooks, a 6-foot-4 defender who is brought forward for set pieces.
The loss put Ghana at the bottom of Group G with Portugal — the Americans’ next opponent. The top two teams in the group advance.
At the final whistle, coach Jurgen Klinsmann, the German hired to transform the U.S. from mere World Cup participant into a potential power, threw his arms to the sky and roared.

MIAMI (AP) — Gregg Popovich called Game 3 of the NBA Finals an anomaly.
He couldn’t use the same word to describe Game 4. It was repeat show of dominance, one that put the San Antonio Spurs one win away from ending the Miami Heat’s reign as NBA champions.
Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Tim Duncan set a pair of playoff records and the Spurs controlled play throughout on the way to a 107-86 win over the Heat in Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night. San Antonio leads the series 3-1, and can capture its fifth NBA championship by winning at home Sunday night.
“They’re playing beautiful basketball,” Miami’s Chris Bosh said.
“We’re playing Spurs basketball,” San Antonio’s Tony Parker said.
Different sentences, same meaning. The Spurs’ game is the beautiful one right now, and the way they came into Miami and frustrated the Heat not once but twice was simply remarkable.
“Now we’ve got to go back home and play as well — or better,” said Popovich, the Spurs’ coach.
Hard to imagine them playing much better.
In Game 3, the Spurs’ biggest lead was 25, while Miami never led by more than two.

NEW YORK (AP) — Henrik Lundqvist and some soft ice in front of his net kept the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals.
Lundqvist made 40 saves in the Rangers' 2-1 victory in Game 4 that kept the Los Angeles Kings from a sweep on Wednesday night.
Twice Los Angeles put the puck on the goal line without getting it all the way across.
The last came with 1:11 left in the game when Rangers forward Derek Stepan pushed the puck out of danger after it got behind Lundqvist.
"It's probably the product of moving a lot," Lundqvist said. "I stay deep in the net, so there's a lot of snow there."
"I thought I had it because I felt the puck, felt like I got a good piece of it on that deflection. I was yelling at the ref to blow the whistle. Then I realized it was behind me for a couple seconds."
Benoit Pouliot and Martin St. Louis each scored for the Rangers. Los Angeles leads the series 3-1 and will get its second shot to claim the Cup for the second time in three years Friday night at home.
"We would have liked to finish it tonight, but having the next game back at home, that is where we are comfortable," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said.

NEW YORK (AP) — It turns out Jonathan Quick and the Los Angeles Kings are just as good with the lead as they are without it.
That leaves the New York Rangers with little hope of making much of a series out of the Stanley Cup finals.
Quick stopped 32 shots in his best start of the series, Jeff Carter scored in the final second of the first period, Jake Muzzin and Mike Richards added goals in the second, and the Kings beat the Rangers 3-0 on Monday night to move within one win of their second Stanley Cup title in three years.
Los Angeles leads 3-0 and can claim the Cup on Wednesday night in New York. The Kings have already survived three Game 7s on the road, so this amount of success has their confidence soaring.
Quick hardly showed it when he took the podium wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.
“I don’t think it would be any different if we were down 3-0,” Quick said. “We’re just trying to win a game in a couple days here. That’s the focus.”
After the Rangers blew two-goal leads in each of the first two games of the championship round in Los Angeles, they came home and couldn’t get anything going against Quick.
The All-Star was sharp early and in the middle when the Kings built their lead. Not even six power plays could jump-start New York’s offense.

NEW YORK (AP) — Martin Panza celebrated California Chrome’s charge to Preakness Stakes victory three weeks ago like most fans at the packed Pimlico Race Course — bumping fists, slapping hands and thinking ahead to Saturday and the possibility of the first Triple Crown winner in 36 years.
And then Belmont Park’s director of racing operations thought about everything else: the tens of thousands of additional people who show up for the Belmont Stakes whenever a horse has a chance at history; the millions more in expected wagers; and the need for more of everything, from seating, concessions to bathrooms, security and about 1,000 additional workers.
Local officials and business leaders celebrated too, seeing the race and the added interest of a Triple Crown contender as a boon of sold-out hotel rooms, dinners out and free publicity, so long as the writers and broadcasters were aware the track is actually on Long Island, as NBC’s Bob Costas noted Wednesday, and not in New York City.
If California Chrome triumphs, it will happen on Panza’s turf — or rather, his dirt — at an marquee New York-area event that the track’s new management team reimagined earlier this year as a fusion of sports and entertainment worth attending even when the Triple Crown is not on the line.